Benjamin j



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. B. J. BUGKMAN.

CHAIR SEAT.

No. 373,582. Patented Nov. 22, 1887.

N. PETERS, PhnloJ-iklwgnpher. Wanhingtun. D. c.

2 Shets-Sheet 2.

Patented Nov. 22, 1887.

l IHIHHI] llllllllllIlllHHHIIHHIIIIIIIIIIII CHAIR SEAT.

B. QT. BUOKMAN.

IHHIHII W (No Model.)

0000 000 V womfir n owowtwoivp rn N4 PETERS, Phnm-LilhogmphcnWashington, 0.1:.

porting-frame, and A the back.

llNiTsD STATES ATENT Frien- BENJAMIN J. BUOKMAN, OF GARDNER,MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO HEYIVOOD BROTHERS & 00., OF SAME PLACE.

CHAIR-SEAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 373,582, dated November22, 1887.

(No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN J. BUCKMAN, of Gardner, in thecounty of\Vorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Chain Seats, of which the following is a specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 isa plan of a chair-seat embodying my invention, with its back-frame insection on line 1 1 of Fig. 2, which is a side ele- Vation of a chairprovided with one form of my new seat, the back-frame being broken off.Fig. 3 is a bottom plan of my new chair-seat with its supportingframesectioned on line 3 3 of Fig. 4, which is a view partly in section online 4 4 of Fig. 8. Fig. 5 shows another form of my chair-seat.

My invention relates particularly to the art of making the so-calledrattan furniture, and is a chair-seat which has a dependent border ofrattan, strands of cane, or the like, the border being formed bycombining pieces of rattan or the like with stakes,which are inserted inholes on the upper side of the chairframe and are then bent outwardlyand downwardly, as more fully explained below.

It is well known to all skilled in the art that it is practicallyessential that pieces of rattan furniture should have alight andgraceful appearance, and that this requirement renders it exceedinglydifficult to make the pieces strong and durable, because braces ofrequisite number and size to give the desired stiffness and strength tothe piece render the piece clumsy and ungraceful in appearance.

The object of myinvention is to enable rattan-chair makers to produce achair which has a light and graceful appearance, but which at the sametime has a strong well-braced supporting-frame, andmy chair-seat, whichis capable of use with supporting-frames and backs of various styles, isconsequently provided with the dependent border of novel construction tohide the main braces of the supporting-frame from view.

In the drawings, A is the seat, A the sup- Frame a of seat A is bored toreceive the ends of legs a,

which, with the dowels a and braces a make up the supporting-frame A.

In order to hide from view the braces a and dowels a, upon which Iusually wholly rely for making the supporting frame stiff and durable, Iprovide the seat with the dependent border B, of wicker or strand work,which is made up of pieces, I), of rattan secured in holes a in frame a,and other pieces, I), of rat tan interwoven with the pieces I). Theholes a do not, preferably, extend entirely through the frame a,- butwhether they do or not the pieces Z1 (commonly called stakcs) areinserted in holes a from the upper side of the seat, and are then bentoutwardly and downwardly. This gives thechair-scat a graceful andluxurious appearance. The free ends of pieces I) are confined in afinishing, b and the border B is made wide enough to hide the mainbraces of the supporting-frame, which are heavy and strong, and yet donot prevent the chair from having a light and graceful appearance.

The back A is secured to the seat A in a way too well known to requiredescription.

It is obvious that the border B may be made either rounded or fiat, justas desired. If the border is to be rounding, as I prefer it should be,the pieces I), being inserted in holes a in frame a, are bent downwardlyand outwardly and then inwardly, their other ends being secured in afinishing, as shown, or to a supple mentary frame, or carried back toframe a, as will be readily .understood without further explanation byall skilled in the art. Pieces 5 are preferably glued in holes a Ofcourse other pieces than I) may be interwoven or otherwise combined withpieces b, and the border may be made in many different styles.

It is plain that the pieces I) are readily bent so as to form a flangeprojecting above the upper support of the seat, if desired to hold acushion in place, (see Fig. 3;) or the frame may be cutaway, as shown inFig. 5, to prevent the bent pieces I) from projecting above the uppersurface of the seat.

I am aware of I-Iopkinss patent, No. 69,808, dated October 15, 1867,Mabbetts patent, No. 172,136, dated January 11, 1876, and Elliss patent,No. 257,439, dated May 2, 1882, and and downwardly from the upper sideof the disclaim all that is shown in them. frame a, all substantially asand for the pur- IO What I claim is pose set forth.

The improved chair-seat herein described 5 whose frame a is providedwith a dependent BENJAMIN BUCKMAN border, B, formed of pieces I),secured in holes \Vitnesses: a of frame a, and other pieces, I),combined THATOHER B. DUNN, with pieces I), the piecesfb being bentoutwardly FRANCIS S. WVHITTEMORE.

